Just Between Me and You
by GreenPearl Atlantic Aries
Summary: I know why he had to leave us, but that doesn't mean it didn't hurt me or the children. What hurts more than him leaving the first time? Having him back in the house, but not feeling like he's really mine anymore... Takes place about a half a year after Advent Children. WARNNIG! This is a lemon, so if you don't like them, don't read this! You have been warned! CloTi, some Zaerith.
1. Welcome back, Cloud

**A/N: This one shot was written for my best fine feathered friend's birthday! I really hope that you guys like it, and again, HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY BOOHBEAR19! **

**A/N 2: So Boohbear19 is writing a really freakin' awesome story called _Destiny High_ on her account, and if you guys haven't stopped by to check it out yet, you really should! It's a _Kingdom Hearts_ and _Final Fantasy _crossover, taking place after the second _Kingdom Hearts _game, where a ton of the characters go to Destiny High boarding school. Boohbear19 is an _amazing_ author; all of her stuff is ridiculously funny and addicting!**

**Here's her description of the story:**

**"Sora, Riku and Kairi are in boarding school...which is a lot more interesting than you think. (Re-Post, DON'T LIKE DON'T READ! CROSSOVER WITH FINAL FANTASY) Pairings: Sora&amp;Kairi Riku&amp;OC Roxas&amp;Xion? Or Roxas&amp;Namine? Cloud&amp;Tifa Zack&amp;Aerith Tidus&amp;Yuna Shuyin&amp;Lenne and many more!" (Romance/Humor)**

**And here's the link if you could go check it out. I promise, once you start reading it, you will fall in love with it!: ** s/10560887/1/Destiny-High-Repost****

Spring had finally arrived in Midgar.

The winter was unusually cold this year; Marlene and Denzel loved all of the snow, and the snow days that came with it. Cloud, on the other hand, couldn't hate it any more. Of course he loved seeing his children happy; he hated seeing them anything but. But the one thing he hated more than seeing his children unhappy was trying to drive in the snow, especially when ALL of the worst drivers in Midgar decide to go out driving right when Cloud had to make his deliveries.

During the winter, Cloud was miserable. He had to work extra-long hours, starting deliveries an hour early and returning home two hours later every day. Cloud hated being away from his family any longer than he needed to, but he needed the overtime to help the family live comfortably. Helping his loved ones came, at a price, though. Whenever he was home, Cloud was either sleeping or too grumpy to spend quality time with his beautiful wife and kids. Ever since the deaths of his beloved friends, Cloud had grown rather quiet and reclusive, hurting Tifa more.

All she wanted was her Cloud back. _At least tomorrow is Cloud's first day on his normal shift, I'm sure he'll be back to his normal self soon enough. _Tifa thought with a smile as she dozed off into a peaceful sleep.

Tifa awoke to an all too familiar sight: the indent in the bed where her sleeps every night, with him nowhere in sight. Had she overslept? She rolled over to get a good look at her clock which read 6:00. So she hadn't overslept; Cloud must have just gone to work early again.

_That's strange,_ Tifa thought to herself, _Cloud's been saying for weeks now that he couldn't wait to finally sleep in and when he finally can he doesn't?! _

A cool gust of air blew in through the bay window, causing the curtains to blow around, revealing the most beautiful day Midgar had seen in years. _Oh well, maybe he's just still used to his old routine. I won't let his absence ruin such a perfect day. _Tifa thought as a smile crossed her face.

The day had gone quite nicely: the weather held out all day, she took the day off, after the kids got home from school, Tifa took them both out for ice cream, and she even got to go shopping with Yuffie. It was a relaxing day that seemed to have come straight out of her dreams. It was only missing one crucial part: Cloud. No matter how hard she tried to enjoy everything she did that day, she couldn't help but imagine how much greater it would have been with Cloud there. A quick jolt of guilt shot through her body. _What am I thinking? When I'm here thinking that my day wasn't perfect because Cloud wasn't here, he's probably out there busting his butt wishing that he could just take a five minute break!_

Tifa shook off the feeling of guilt and walked up to her and Cloud's bedroom and dumped her bags on the tidy bed. She removed the various articles of clothing and carefully removed each tag. As she reached the bottom of the bag, she noticed a shirt that she didn't remember buying. _Hmm, that's funny; I must have accidently pick it up. This actually looks a lot like…_ Her thoughts trailed off as the dots began to connect. The short sleeved, thin, pink fabric, scarlet buttoned shirt was just like…_Aerith._ Tears came to Tifa's eyes as the fond memories of her friend flooded back. She walked over to her full length mirror, held the shirt up to her chest and examined herself. She sighed, put the shirt back into the bag, and moved it off the bed and onto the nightstand by her bed.

_Oh, Aerith, you know that I could never pull that look off like you did. And you know that I could never replace you, either…_

With that thought, a small bit of jealousy flickered inside of her as she remembered the time when Cloud lived with Aerith instead of her.

_Is that why he has been going in early and coming home so late? Is it not for the money at all? Is he just not over Aerith?_

Now, the jealousy in her heart was replaced with loneliness. She cradled her face in her hands as the tears began to flow.

Her heart stopped when she felt something grab onto both of her shoulders. Instinctively, Tifa swung around; fists balled, and nailed whatever grabbed her right in its head. A surprised gasp escaped his mouth as the perp tumbled to the ground. She instantly regretted her hasty attack.

"Cloud?!" Tifa called out as she knelt down on the floor next to her husband. "Cloud, are you okay?"

With a gloved hand, Cloud gently rubbed the area where Tifa had struck, but quickly turned to Tifa with a slight smirk on his face.

"Wow, Tifa, remind me never to sneak up on you again."

Tifa gave him a broad smile and wrapped her arms around Cloud's broad shoulders. At first, Cloud flinched at the touch, but eventually warmed up to the sudden act of affection. He placed his hands on her bony hips and rested his chin on her small but strong shoulders, placing his lips just away from her ear.

"Hey, I'm sorry I've been gone so much this winter, and that I probably haven't been much fun to be around."

"Please, don't apologize." Tifa whispered back.

"But I have to. I've been gone for months and then I finally get back home and what do I do to thank you for everything, overwork myself and be moody all the time."

"You weren't moody…most of the time." Tifa teased.

"Yeah, well, either way, I got something for you as a little 'thank you' for everything. I know that I can never truly repay you, but I thought that this may be a good place to start."

"Cloud, you didn't have to…"

Tifa was silenced by a pair of soft lips being pressed against hers. It was short and sort of awkward, mainly because Cloud was never the one to initiate a romantic act.

"It's okay, Honey, I wanted to." Cloud whispered before planting a much sweeter kiss on Tifa's forehead, making her blush.

"Now, close your eyes."

Tifa did as she was told. She heard the sound of Cloud's clothes ruffling and paper crinkling. Tifa's heart pounded as the situation began to sink in. _Cloud's home, he's finally home. _

"Okay, Tifa, open your eyes."

Tears once again flooded Tifa's eyes as she took in the scene. Cloud sat cross legged in front of her, holding a bouquet of twelve red roses and a pink, heart-shaped box of chocolates. There was a moment of silence between the two before Tifa tackled Cloud and wrapped him in a tight embrace, rubbing her silky hair against Cloud's soft face. _Why do I feel so weak all of a sudden? No one has ever made me feel this way before._ Cloud returned the embrace just as happily as she gave it to him. The two sat in a comfortable silence for a minute before the sound of soft sobs and the feeling of Tifa's hot tears snapped Cloud back to reality. He helped his wife into a sitting position so that he was able to see her face. He was perplexed to see her both crying and smiling at the same time. An obviously dumbfounded look crossed Cloud's face.

"Tifa, what's wrong?" Cloud whispered, his voice filled with concern.

"Nothing, nothing at all!" Tifa exclaimed with joy. "I'm just so glad to have you back!"

Tifa reached her neck so that she could find Cloud's lips. This time, Cloud didn't hesitate for a second…

**TBC **

**A/N: Sorry to end the story right when it was getting good (if you know what I mean ;)), but this story was written for Booh bear's birthday on May 19****th****, and I have been so swamped with school work and finals that I haven't had the chance to finish it yet, and I can't stand to make her wait anymore, so think of this as a little teaser, but the rest should be up this weekend. **


	2. Welcome Back Present

**A/N: Sorry this took so long to update! I have been on vacation, writing a lot more of an original, and just had a **_**lot**_** of writer's block for this one! Anyway, here's the lemon, and I have decided to write a sort of epilogue to this which will contain almost total fluff, but will just sum this story up! By the way, the lemon doesn't start right away, this begins with quite a bit of fluff, but I think it makes it much sweeter. **

_**Destiny High: **_

_**** s/10560887/1/Destiny-High-Repost****_

_Kiss, kiss, kiss. _Their bodies began to rock in time as the two fighters grew more and more heated. Fingers laced through Tifa's soft, black hair and pulled her in closer. Between deep kisses, Cloud felt his eyes fluttering open. On the bedwas a pink dress that looked identical to…

_Aerith's_.

Cloud released his grip on the excited girl and slowly rose to his feet. Tifa opened her eyes, hungry for more kisses.

"I'm sorry, Cloud. I understand if you aren't ready for this. I just thought…" _Oh no… _Tifa trailed off as she caught sight of the clothes she had left out. She, too, stood and approached the distraught man carefully.

_Aerith, right when I'm finally able to move on… _Tears welled up in the man's mako infested eyes, threatening to spill at any second. He wiped the backs of his gloved hands against his waterlines, catching his tears before they were able to roll down his cheeks. A blush crossed his face as he realized his feminine act, and quickly coughed into his hand, diverting any attention away from his lack of strength.

"Cloud…" Tifa whispered, wrapping her arms around his thin waist. "I'm so sorry." Tears now fell from her eyes.

There was silence. It wasn't awkward as Tifa expected it to be, it was actually…peaceful, unlike the premonitions that were running through her head. The two were lost in thought.

_When this silence is over, Cloud will leave again, I just know it._

_How could I let her die? I promised Zack… How could I have fallen in love with her, I love Tifa._

"Tifa…" Cloud spun around without a warning and pulled Tifa into his chest.

"Cloud?" Tifa wondered, confused by the sudden change of mood.

"I… I'm so sorry… for everything…for leaving you. I was so confused and hurt, and I didn't want you to see me so weak. I know that an apology can't make up for everything I put you and the kids through, but I hope that if you give me a chance, I can win back your trust and love."

"Oh, Cloud!" Tifa gushed, attempting to bring his mouth to hers, but was held back by strong hands who kept her several inches away.

"But…Tifa…" Cloud stammered, baffled. "H-how do you still want me? I feel so horrible, I betrayed your trust and you still…love me?" Tears of happiness prickled at his eyes.

"Cloud," Tifa cupped her hands around his face, her voice full of kindness. "I never stopped loving you. I'll never stop loving you. I understand what you did, I'm just so glad you're back with me now." Cloud locked his lips against hers as his heart welled with feelings of longing and elation.

"I love you so much, Tifa." Cloud said through kisses. Tifa's only response was a gentle nip to his lower lip. He smiled as strong legs wrapped around his hips and the two shifted over to the bed.

With their kiss deepening and showing no sign of separating, Cloud lowered her onto the plush mattress, where she was partially engulfed in blanket and mattress. He crawled on top of her and rested his hands by her ribs.

"A-Are you sure you still want to do this?" Cloud asked, nervous.

"Come on, Cloud, I wouldn't be laying down on our bed after we just made out if I didn't want this!" Tifa teased. "Trust me, I _want_ this." Cloud gave her a devious smile as he lay on top of her, pinning her arms to the bed.

"Okay, then you're gonna get it." Tifa smiled as he began to pull off her black shorts and she pulled off his blue, knit vest.

Once their clothes were off, the kissing began again. Cloud began messaging Tifa's breasts in circles, causing the girl to pant. When the messaging became not enough the girl, Cloud kissed both of her nipples and nipped the second, before running his fingers up and down her sides. Tifa moaned and wrapped her left leg around Cloud's left side, flipping him onto his back, before crawling down to his crotch.

"Your turn, Cloud." Tifa whispered before engulfing his cock in her mouth. With a skilled tongue, she explored Cloud, making him moan whenever she hit a sensitive spot. Both fighters were now panting, craving more and more with every passing second. Cloud arched his back and held his breath.

"T-Tifa…" He whispered, short of breathe. Tifa backed away just in time to avoid the eruption. Cloud released a sigh of relief, but he was still hungry for more. This was the first time anyone had ever given him a blow job before. Yes, the two had had sex a few times in the past, but they were never this heated. Maybe it had been because they were both inexperienced at the time.

Cloud had been so deep in thought that he only noticed Tifa prowling her way towards him when she was practically on top of him.

"So," Tifa began seductively, "how did you like it? I'm kind of new at this." The corner of Cloud's mouth snuck up a little bit.

"Well, you naughty little girl," Cloud responded, grabbing her butt and lowering her down onto his abs. "you've never failed to impress. Have you been practicing on other guys since I've been gone?"

"Come on," Tifa said with a dark grin on her face. "once anyone's had a taste of you, everyone else seems like trash."

She nipped his neck, leaving behind a small, red mark. She backed her head away slowly to examine it, and then kissed it gently. From there, she began a trail of kisses that lead up to his jaw, and stopped at his ear.

"Cloud," Tifa whispered in his ear through shallow breathes. He could feel her wetness on his stomach as she felt every one of his rock-hard chest muscles, and her body felt so warm that he thought she had a fever. "y-you have the cutest ears I've ever seen." She confessed, her face flushing. Her wet tongue slid up the contour of his perfectly sculpted ear, leaving behind a thin trail of saliva. When she reached the top curve of his ear, she started another line of kisses that lead back down the saliva, where she proceeded to take his earlobe in her mouth. Her playful tongue ran across the contours of his ear, but faltered as she was met with the cool sensation of Cloud's metal earring, causing her whole body to shiver with pleasure.

By now, her heart was racing so fast she was afraid it might burst. Cloud took this as the perfect opportunity to grab behind her knees and flip her onto her back, where he rested his hips on hers, sliding himself in with ease. She threw her head back into the pillow and grabbed fist-fulls of sheets as she let out a loud groan. Tifa's cheeks grew redder as she wrapped her arms around Cloud's neck, and her legs around his hips. Her breathing increased, and her nails dug into his perfectly sculpted back as their speed increased. The two barely had time to get into a steady rhythm when Tifa let out an ear-piercing cry and sank into the bed, beat. Cloud grabbed the comforter and covered himself and his sleeping wife before wrapping his arm around her shoulder and nuzzling his nose into her neck, breathing in her sweet scent.

_You know, something tells me I'm going to be just fine… _Cloud thought to himself before kissing the back of Tifa's head and dozing off into a peaceful sleep.

**A/N: Okay, so I really hope that this came out okay! And again, I'm sorry this took so long to update! The third and final part will be out on Monday! **


	3. A Date, Maybe?

**A/N: So here is the last instalment of **_**Just Between Me and You**_**! I think this is the first update I've posted that has been on time! I hope you guys like it; it's 100% fluff! **

_Destiny High:_

s/10560887/1/Destiny-High-Repost

A beam of sunlight shown through the couple's small apartment window and onto Cloud's tired face, nagging him to get up. He moaned and shielded his eyes with the crook of his elbow, refusing to be defeated by light.

_Aw, come on! My first night off of busy season and I have to get up early! _Cloud growled and opened his eyes, allowing them to adjust to the ample sunlight. Tifa lay in front of him, ruby eyes wide.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty." She said with a chuckle, wrapping her arm around his waist. As he struggled to gain consciousness, he noticed that she was now in clothes.

"Hey, Tifa, when did you get dressed, it's so early…" His eyes bulged as he looked over her shoulder and at their alarm clock, which read 10 o'clock. She laughed at the goofy expression on his face.

"Sorry I didn't wake you earlier; I thought that you'd want to sleep in." Tifa said with a smile. Cloud sat up and scanned the room as if expecting to see one of his ex-foes, but for once, no one was there…wait…no one was there.

"Tifa, where are the kids?!" His heart began to speed up with anxiety. Tifa rested a calming hand to his shoulder, before rubbing small circles with her thumb into his back.

"It's fine, Vincent, Yuffie, and Barrett took the kids to see a baseball game a few towns over. Yuffie left to meet up with them after we got back from shopping yesterday. They stayed at a hotel for the night, and they'll be home a little after dinner. They thought that we'd like some time to catch up alone." Tifa said softly, her eyes wandering down to Cloud's bare chest, and she blushed. "O-Oh! Here, I'll get you your clothes!" She stubbed off the bed, rounding up every piece at lightning speed. Cloud couldn't help but laugh.

"Very classy, Miss Lockhart!" Tifa pouted, and dumped the pile of clothes onto Cloud before turning around.

"Well, I have to spend all of my time fighting being graceful; sometimes it's nice to be a klutz every now and then." Cloud grinned as he jumped into his clothes. His mouth was beginning to hurt from all of this smiling; he'd have to start getting used to this. In a way, though, he kind of liked it. He hadn't been this happy since Zack was around.

He waited for the tears, but nothing came, just more smiles. For the longest time, whenever he thought of his dead friends, all he would do was retreat inwards, but now…now the memories brought happiness.

"Okay, Tifa, you can look now." Tifa turned around and noticed that Cloud had failed to zip up his vest past his belly button, so she walked up to him and did it herself.

"So," Tifa started, a hopeful smile on her face, "I was just thinking, how you would like to go out on a date today? We could go anywhere you want."

"Hm, anywhere I want…" Cloud put two fingers on his chin, mock-deep in thought. "how about" He moved his hands onto Tifa's hips. "you and me go on a ride to Nibelheim. They've rebuilt it since we were last there, and recently, I've really liked to ponder my old memories," He planted a kiss on her forehead. "and I'm dying to make some new ones." Tifa wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed his cheek.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea! And if we like it, maybe we can go again, and bring the kids."

"I like that idea," Cloud said, his voice full of happiness, "now come on, we don't want to keep Nibelheim waiting!"

The reunited couple bounded down the staircase to the front door, where Tifa grabbed the doorknob, but didn't open it.

"Cloud…" Tifa whispered quietly.

"What's wrong, Tifa?" Cloud asked, concerned.

"Nothing! Just do me a favor, and don't mention last night to Vincent, Cid, Barrett, and _especially_ not Yuffie, okay?"

"Don't worry," Cloud smiled. "That's just between me and you." With that, Tifa opened the door and they were off for Nibelheim, unaware of the two figures behind them.

"That's my boy." Zack smiled as he watched his friend drive away, his black hair shining blue as he entered the light. "I was worried about you for a while there, trying to steal my Angel, but Tifa's a nice girl." He looked back to Aerith, who was following close behind.

"You know that I'd never abandon my puppy, even if he did pass away before me." She looked up at him, her emerald eyes sparkling. "I just love you too much to do that." Her arms were just barely able to wrap around his chest.

"I know, honey," He said with a chuckle, kissing the top of her head. "I love you, too."

"They are a cute couple, you know." Aerith pointed out sweetly.

"We're a cuter couple, you know." Zack squeezed her tighter. Aerith giggled and gave him a gentle shove.

"Oh, you!"

After the silhouette that was Cloud and Tifa faded into the distance, Aerith and Zack turned around and headed for the staircase, where they faded away into the light that was Heaven.

**A/N: Okay guys, that was the end of this story! Thank you all SO much for taking the time to leave such kind reviews! I had a LOT of fun writing it and it has really gotten me inspired to write some new material for the Eight White Flags! I actually "completed" and took down a few stories because I just wasn't inspired enough to write them anymore and whenever I would update them, it felt like a chore, and I come onto this site to have fun, so when writing a story begins to feel like a chore, you know it's time to call it quits :p So sorry if I ended a story that you were really looking forward to reading, but I hope you can understand where I'm coming from, and know that there is going to be a lot better stories coming out soon!**

**Cloti4everPlz: **And thank you for such kind reviews! ****

**Whoops! You are 100% right! Oops, embarrassing! XD I just fixed all of those mistakes! No worries at all, you definitely do NOT sound rude or b*tchy one bit! Thank you SO much for pointing out that mistake! I actually haven't played any of the games myself, so I get Midgar and Nibelheim confused all the time! **

**Thank you so much! I really did try my hardest to keep them in character, and since there were no lemons in the games or movie, I really had no idea how they would act during sex, so I just tried to wing it.**

**I'm so glad that you like my writing style! I really do try my best, but sometimes I just feel like some stories/chapters just plain SUCK, but I'm trying to write a novel and I like to use FanFiction to not only practice my writing, but see how people like it, and it means a lot to me to know that you do!**

**See, I personally like Aerith myself, I do agree that she can be very spacy and ditsy and an almost man-stealer, but I feel like she really is a sweet character. And I totally agree with you about CloTi and Zaerith! Her and Cloud are definitely not meant to be :p That's why I ended the story the way I did!**


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